


End of the Road

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Drama, Episode Related, M/M, Missing Scene, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-28
Updated: 2006-03-28
Packaged: 2019-02-02 05:59:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12721029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: Jack and Sam can no longer avoid the consequences of feelings.





	End of the Road

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

  
Author's notes: None.  


* * *

"Colonel, my office. Now."

Jack looked up only to see General Hammond's back disappearing from the doorway. He frowned, then gave himself a shake and finished buttoning his shirt. He shoved the bottles of pills in his jacket pocket and walked out of the private infirmary room. It was only a matter of minutes before he was at Hammond's door, still puzzling over the reason for the summons. 

"Close the door, Jack, and take a seat."

Frowning, Jack slowly closed the door and sat down across from Hammond.

"General?" Jack asked, meeting Hammond's steely eyes apprehensively.

"I'm sorry to be pulling you in here at a time like this."

"Yes, sir."

"But I'm afraid I've let this situation go on too long," Hammond said, his eyes briefly dropping to where his hands lay folded on the desk. "It's gotten out of hand and I have no choice but to act."

"Situation, sir?"

"It's not the first time Major Carter has acted based on her feelings, rather than her intelligence and training, but it has become undeniably dangerous." Hammond raised his eyes again to meet Jack's gaze straight on. "Are you aware of Major Carter's actions in the field during this past mission?"

"Sir?" Jack took a moment to review his memories before answering. "I assigned Daniel to assist Dr. Fraiser in evacuating Wells. Carter, Teal'c and I moved in to assist SG-13 as ordered. We engaged the Jaffa."

"How did you get hit, Colonel?"

"I saw a Jaffa sneaking through the underbrush to my left. I moved to get a better line of sight on him...." Jack shook his head ruefully. "I never saw the one that got me."

"And Major Carter?"

"She was behind and to my right, sir. Just where I'd positioned her." 

"When you were hit Major Carter abandoned her position and ran across the open to reach you."

Jack just stared at Hammond, dumbstruck.

"She put herself and everyone else involved in the extraction at increased risk." Hammond's face was stony with anger. "And then I went to see you in the infirmary, to speak to you about Dr. Fraiser's memorial service, I found the two of you... embracing."

"It's not what you think, sir," Jack protested automatically.

"Isn't it?"

"I was merely offering comfort to a colleague."

"Just how often does Major Carter need comfort?" Hammond asked sharply. 

Jack's gaze dropped to his knees. 

"Equally as shameful as your disrespect for your position is the fact that this has damaged your team."

"SG-1 is fine, sir."

"Teal'c has been reduced to little more than your chaperone," Hammond countered coldly. "And Dr. Jackson.... Well, frankly, I've had occasion to wonder why he ever bothered to descend."

"I'll take care of it, General," Jack said, tacitly acknowledging the general's assessment.

"You've already had the opportunity to take care of it," Hammond said. "I trusted the two of you to be professional enough, honorable enough, to do the right thing. I thought that you had. I see now that I was wrong."

"General," Jack said, raising his eyes. "Please, let me handle this. I'll take full responsibility."

"Colonel, I have no choice," Hammond said. "We lost our C.M.O. as well as a damn good friend out there. And I've heard enough to know that circumstances demand further explanation. There will have to be an investigation."

"Investigation?"

"If an examination of the facts reveals that everyone acted professionally and to the best of their abilities, then I will have to live with the fact that I made an error in judgment by sending Dr. Fraiser into the field," Hammond said.

"You were trying to save the life of one of your men," Jack argued. 

"If, however, the investigation shows that there was any improper behavior.... I won't be able to protect you." Hammond looked gravely at Jack. "And frankly, I'm afraid that protecting you in the past is what led us to this point."

"Yes, sir," Jack said, somewhat dazed by the implications. "But for the record, Major Carter is damn fine officer. I don't believe she would knowingly put any one at risk."

"Let's hope you're right." Hammond sighed, weary. "However, even if the investigation clears Major Carter...."

"I'll take care of it," Jack said firmly. "If I don't, my resignation will be on your desk."

"I'll hold you to that, Colonel."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Jack walked out of the kitchen and picked up his jacket from the dining room table. Daniel reacted automatically, reaching over to help.

"I can dress myself," Jack snapped, pulling away from Daniel and wincing as he moved too quickly for his healing injuries. For a moment Daniel simply stood, staring at Jack. Then he turned, grabbed his suit coat from the back of the dining room chair, and headed for the door.

"Where're you going?" Jack asked.

"I'll call Sam," Daniel said, pulling out his cell phone even as he reached for the door. 

"What for?"

"So she can come and get you," Daniel said, turning back to Jack with a shrug. "If she's not home I'll call the base. Hammond will send a car for you."

"I thought you were giving me a ride to the memorial service," Jack said, puzzled.

"So did I," Daniel said. "But you don't want me here and, frankly, neither do I."

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Daniel said, shrugging into his coat.

"Yes, there is. And you need to get over it. Today is not about you, Daniel."

"I watched a friend, someone I cared about, killed in front of my eyes," Daniel said, staring at Jack with disbelief. 

"It happens. You know that," Jack said curtly.

"I watched her die and I'm trying to make some kind of sense of it," Daniel continued. "And while I'm trying to make sense of it you and Sam are groping each other. You know--you really should shut the door if you're going to do that kind of stuff on base."

"It's not what you think," Jack said, closing down, his face becoming unreadable.

"It's *exactly* that, Jack. And the worst of it is that neither of you has the decency to admit it. Neither of you has enough respect for your own regulations to do the right thing."

"You hate military regs."

"Yes, I do, but I'm not the one fucking his second in command," Daniel said. Jack's eyes widened at the blunt statement. "They're *your* rules, Jack. The ones you're always telling me we have to obey for the good of the team."

"They are."

"So what happened? When did the team stop mattering?" Daniel asked. "When did we become expendable?"

"Don't twist this...." Jack protested. 

"Stop lying!" Daniel shouted. "To me. To yourself. You and Sam spend most of your time moping around each other, and Teal'c and I have been relegated to dancing attendance on your 'forbidden' love affair."

"That's bullshit."

"*I* watched Janet die," Daniel said, pinning Jack with an angry stare. "Forget the fact that Janet should never have been there. She sure as hell shouldn't have been there with me as her primary back- up. It's pure luck that we weren't all killed. Frankly, I wish I had been. Hell, I'm used to it. But it shouldn't have happened to Janet.

"And then I get back to the base, find out that Sam put the entire operation at risk by rushing to your side in the middle of a fucking firefight-something even *I* know not to do--and watch her stomping around crying because she nearly lost you."

Daniel stepped back away from Jack and took a deep breath. 

"My transfer should be done by the time you're cleared for duty."

"What transfer? Why?"

"I don't trust you. I don't trust either of you," Daniel said. "Not out there in the field, where it counts."

"I have never compromised my command in the field for personal reasons," Jack said angrily. 

"Maybe not. But you *are* compromised. And I'm not willing to bet my life that you or Sam won't be 'distracted' by each other at a crucial moment."

"Like you've never gotten distracted out there. Never gotten so caught up in your own agenda that you've put the rest of us at risk."

"I have," Daniel admitted reluctantly. "And you've ripped me a new one each and every time I did. I think I've gotten better about weighing the risks."

"You have," Jack conceded. "My point is that everyone makes mistakes."

"But there's one big difference, Jack. I'm not in charge out there. You are. Or Sam, when you're not available. I'm expected to take orders from Sam, to trust her, and I just can't do that anymore."

"Daniel...."

"You know what?" Daniel said, slipping his phone in his inside breast pocket. "Call Sam yourself."

"Daniel," Jack growled angrily. 

"For what it's worth, I hope you'll be very happy together."

"We are *not* together, damn it."

"Shame," Daniel said flatly, pausing in the open door. "Because you deserve each other."

* * *

Jack made the appropriately polite small talk after the memorial service even as he worked his way toward the door. Thinking he had a clear exit he turned quickly, only to come up against Teal'c's somber presence.

"O'Neill."

"Hey, Teal'c."

"I am pleased to see that you are recovering from your injuries."

"Yeah, thanks." Jack looked back toward the wreaths on the gate ramp. "Do you believe in fate, Teal'c?"

"Not as you define the word," Teal'c said, gazing at the wreaths himself. "I do believe there is a higher purpose to our lives and that it is often beyond our understanding." Teal'c returned his gaze to Jack. "I also believe that we have the freedom of action, and that our actions may redefine the purpose we are meant to achieve."

"Nope," Jack said quietly. "I think all we've got is right here, right now."

"Then one's actions would be all the more important."

"Et tu?" Jack said. Teal'c merely cocked his head at Jack. "Hammond's pissed at me. Daniel is beyond pissed."

"Why would I be angry with you, O'Neill?"

"Because of what happened out there."

"You are not responsible for Dr. Fraiser's death."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But Carter...."

"Are not Major Carter's actions her own responsibility?"

"Yes." Jack sighed. "And no. We're all too connected. What I do affects what Carter does. What Carter does affects what Daniel does. And so on."

"That is true," Teal'c said with a nod. "Yet ultimately we are responsible for our own choices, regardless of what others may do. You must make your choice, O'Neill, based on what you believe is right. Just as Major Carter must do for herself."

* * *

"So," Sam said once she'd gotten a beer and joined Jack in the back corner booth.

"Hammond called me in yesterday."

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes. You. Me." Jack grimaced. "Us."

"I'm not following," Sam said.

"It has to stop."

"'It' being us?" Sam asked.

"You have a boyfriend, right?"

"What?" Sam said, temporarily thrown off her stride. 

"Pete?" Jack prompted.

"Yes. Yes, of course," Sam said. 

"So why aren't you focusing on him?" Jack asked before taking at pull at his beer. 

"Pete...." Sam shook her head. "Pete's a nice guy, but I don't know that it'll ever be anything... special."

"I can guarantee it won't if you don't give him a chance," Jack said flatly.

"Why don't you just spit it out, sir? Just lay it on the line."

"I thought I did." Jack rolled his eyes as he sat back. "This has to stop. Now. It'll be your career that'll suffer the most. You're smart. Ambitious. You want to be general someday. And you will, but not if you're with me."

"Is that it? You're doing this to protect me?"

"Damn it, Carter, Hammond is starting an investigation."

"What?" Sam asked, stunned. "About us?"

"In a way. He wants to know what happened during the extraction operation for SG-13."

"What does that have to do with us?"

"That's what he wants to know," Jack said.

"That's nuts," Sam said, an incredulous smile on her face. "One has absolutely nothing to do with the other."

"I hope so, Carter. I really do," Jack said grimly.

"Sam."

"What?"

"My name is Sam. We're off duty. We're in a bar. You can stop calling me Carter," Sam said. She laughed bitterly when Jack just stared at her, confused. "Except that you can't, can you? Daniel's Daniel, Teal'c is Teal'c, but I'm Major or Carter."

"It's your name."

"I've been an idiot, haven't I?" Sam said more to herself than to Jack.

"C'mon, Carter, everyone knows you're a genius," Jack said. 

"But not about you and me."

"Never going to happen," Jack agreed, barely meeting her eyes. "I care about you. A lot. But not enough."

"Well, I wanted to know," Sam said. She bit her lip, gazing at the table top.

"Carter?" 

"I told myself that if I knew for sure.... I told myself I'd let go." Sam raised her chin, staring at Jack with angry, hurt eyes.

"So do it," Jack said, meeting her gaze with a carefully neutral expression. "Let go."

* * *

"Come in, Jack."

Jack stepped hesitantly into Hammond's office, not entirely sure of his welcome.

"I take it Dr. Warner has cleared you?" Hammond asked, closing the lid on his laptop before looking up at Jack.

"As of Monday I'm back on duty," Jack confirmed.

"Good. The rest of your team will be back from L.A. by then," George said, sitting back in his chair. He gestured for Jack to take a seat. "You spoke to Major Carter?"

"Nothing gets by you, does it, sir?"

"More often than I care to admit," George corrected him. "But the major seemed particularly... professional at the briefing before they went to California."

"She'll get over it," Jack said with quiet confidence. "She's smart. She *is* professional. And someday she'll be a general."

"That wouldn't surprise me in the least," Hammond said with a smile. "What about you, Jack?"

"I'll never make general," Jack said with a careless wave of his hand.

"That's not what I meant. Are you going to get over it?"

"There's nothing to get over, sir. Nothing. Other than the fact that I allowed the team to be derailed by something that I never intended to pursue."

"Given a chance the team will recover."

"God, I hope so," Jack said in a low voice. 

"Of course, the outcome of the investigation will have some influence on that."

"Yeah, I have to give my testimony this afternoon," Jack said grimly. "Not that I can shed much light given that I went down for the count pretty quickly."

"Perhaps that's just as well," Hammond said. "You won't have to worry about implicating yourself or Major Carter."

"I wasn't planning to lie."

"I didn't think you were," Hammond said. "You realize that the questioning may go beyond the events on 666?"

"I know," Jack said quietly. 

"Dr. Jackson, Major Carter and Teal'c are all scheduled to be interviewed as soon as they return," Hammond said briskly, leaving the matter of Jack's interview to his own conscience.

"Daniel was...." Jack stopped and looked at Hammond, concerned. "Daniel said he was going to ask for a transfer."

"He did. I asked him to hold off at least until we'd all had a chance to regain our equilibrium after Dr. Fraiser's death," Hammond said. "He agreed."

"He's a soft touch," Jack scoffed.

"I thought that, given a little time to cool off, he might reconsider. Judging by his interaction with Teal'c and even Major Carter, I suspect I'm right."

"Yes, well, how he interacts with me remains to be seen."

"Maybe that's something you should think about while he's gone."

* * *

"Major Carter."

Sam looked up from her desk, needing a moment to pull out of the chaotic whirlpool of her own thoughts. 

"Teal'c?"

"I see you have finished your interview," Teal'c said, moving into the room now that Sam had acknowledged him. 

"You mean interrogation," Sam snapped. Teal'c merely cocked his head, waiting. Sam bit her lip, not wanting to give voice to the thought in her head. 

"I did it, didn't I?" Sam blurted out, the angry facçade cracking. 

"Did what?" Teal'c asked in a low, soft voice.

"All of it. Everything they're saying I did." Sam clapped a hand across her mouth, unable to stop the tears from welling up. "I killed Janet."

"Dr. Fraiser was killed by an enemy Jaffa," Teal'c said, taking a seat next to Sam. 

"But I let him get by us. I let him get into a position where he could kill her."

"I do not believe it is possible to be certain what effects your actions may have had," Teal'c said gravely, resting his hand lightly on Sam's shoulder. "We do not know for certain which Jaffa killed her."

"It doesn't matter," Sam said, her voice thick. "The fact is that it's possible and it shouldn't have been possible. It *wouldn't* have been possible if I'd done my job. Now Janet's dead. Daniel could easily have been, too."

"Death is the inevitable consequence of war."

"Not this time," Sam said, shaking her head grimly. "This was preventable. No wonder Daniel hates me."

"Daniel Jackson does not hate you."

"He put in for a transfer."

"I believe there is more to his decision than your actions alone."

"How could I have been so stupid?" Sam asked herself.

"Love is a powerful emotion. It can make us do things we never thought ourselves capable of."

"But that's just it--it *wasn't* love," Sam said angrily through her tears. "It was an infatuation. It was a fairytale. An *excuse*. Nothing more than a pathetic excuse. It never was and never would be real."

"O'Neill does care for you."

"Yes, but no more than he cares for you or Daniel. Or General Hammond for that matter." Sam dropped her head into her hands. "I joined the Air Force to prove that I was as good as any man. That I was the best. And look at me--I've become everything I despise: submissive, careless, unprofessional...."

"You have, perhaps, made mistakes," Teal'c said. "What is important is that you do not continue to make the same errors."

Sam looked up into Teal'c's calm face. 

"But I compromised a mission. I compromised my team," Sam said. "And there's no excuse for that."

* * *

"Go away," Daniel said when he heard Jack entering his office. He kept his eyes glued to the computer screen, refusing to acknowledge Jack's presence any further.

"Daniel...."

"I'm busy," Daniel said firmly. "And I'm not in the mood."

"I take it the interview didn't go well?" Jack asked. Daniel turned in his chair, eyes flashing with anger. "I'm just asking."

"Don't worry. I didn't tell them anything about you and Sam," Daniel said, returning to his work. 

"That's not why I'm here."

"Isn't it?"

"No," Jack said, trying to suppress his own reflexive anger at Daniel's assumptions. "I'm here because I wanted to know how you were doing."

"Peachy," Daniel said bitingly. "I was asked to recount, in great detail, how I watched Janet die. Then I was asked to explain *why* she died. Then I was asked about your affair with Sam."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Jack said. 

"Yeah, right," Daniel muttered. He looked up again when Jack neither left nor asked any more questions. "Don't you want to know what I told them?"

"I'm sure you told them the truth."

"No, I didn't," Daniel said bitterly. "I told them I wasn't aware of any improprieties. And that is the *last* time I will ever lie for you, Jack."

"You didn't have to."

"Yes, I did. Because I trust those assholes from Washington even less than I trust you. And because I don't think you or Sam ever intended to hurt anyone. I'm taking the chance that this experience will act as a big slap upside the head for both of you so that nothing like this ever happens again."

"It won't. I promise you that."

"Don't bother making promises to me," Daniel said with a curt wave of his hand. "They don't matter."

"Of course it matters."

"I talked to Hammond again. I asked him to approve my request for transfer."

Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

"Daniel, please."

"Go away, Jack."

* * *

"Hey," Sam said nervously. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, sure," Daniel said somewhat reluctantly. He waved Sam into his living room. "So... what's up?"

"I just wanted to... apologize, I guess. And say good-bye."

"Good-bye?" Daniel asked, surprised.

"Not permanently. At least, I hope not. The investigation hasn't concluded yet," Sam said. "But I'm going to take some time off. Use some of my leave and try to get my act together before I have to face whatever punishment comes out of all of this."

"Sam...."

"I have no one to blame but myself," Sam said stoically. "The colonel never said or did anything to indicate that he wanted a relationship. I just wanted to believe that he did."

"We can't help the way we feel."

"But we can control how we react to those feelings. I let it get away from me. I let my feelings dictate my actions in both my personal and professional lives." Sam sighed. "I don't know why you and Teal'c put up with me. Hell, I wish one of you had stopped putting up with me and knocked some sense into me."

"Would you have listened to us?" Daniel asked.

"Probably not," Sam said, shamed by the admission. "It's not like I didn't already know, deep down, that there was never going to be anything more between the colonel and me."

"What would you have done if Jack had wanted more?" Daniel asked curiously.

"That's the kicker," Sam said with a bitter laugh. "It would've been almost impossible for me to continue working at the SGC under those circumstances, but I can't see myself doing anything else."

"A no win situation." Daniel paused and cleared his throat. "Forgive the amateur head shrinking, but maybe that's why you persisted."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"You couldn't go any further with Jack because that would've meant making a choice. But as long as you had this... unrequited thing going, you didn't have to deal with any serious relationship." Daniel shrugged. "You could stay in a kind of love limbo."

"Love limbo?" Sam said, laughing. Then her expression quickly sobered. "God, that's not even funny. That's where I've been for seven years. *Seven* years. Boy, it doesn't get any more pathetic than that."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Spend some time with Cassie. God knows she needs some TLC," Sam said. "And I have to try to find a way to explain this to Pete."

"Don't tell him," Daniel said immediately. 

"You don't think I should be honest with him?" Sam asked.

"Being honest would've been telling him right up front, from the very beginning, that you were in love with someone else," Daniel said. "Telling him now will only hurt him."

"But...."

"Think about it, Sam. Who gains by telling Pete?" Daniel asked. "You. Only you. You get to unburden yourself. Confess your 'sins'. Don't do that to him. Don't ask him to absolve you."

"Then... what?"

"If you're not serious about the relationship then make up an excuse, any excuse, and break it off now. If you are serious about him then... suck it up and deal," Daniel said. "I think Pete's really crazy about you. Give him a chance to be the one."

* * *

"You just don't quit, do you?" Daniel asked, leaning against the door frame. 

"Nope." 

Daniel shrugged and walked back into his house, leaving the door open. Jack closed the door behind him and walked after Daniel. He gripped Daniel's shoulder, turned him around, and pulled him close for a kiss. The very next moment he found himself on the ground, rubbing gingerly at his jaw.

"Okay. Well, that hurt," Jack said in a resigned tone.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I don't know." Jack contemplated getting up but it seemed like a lot of work. And would put his face in line with Daniel's fist again. He settled for shifting into a more comfortable position on the floor. 

"You already put one teammate through the wringer, now you want to do it to another?" Daniel demanded, standing over Jack, rubbing at his knuckles. 

"No," Jack said wearily. "I never wanted to hurt Carter. Never. *I* wasn't in love with her so I figured how bad could it get?"

"Bad," Daniel said, still looming over Jack.

"Yeah, bad," Jack agreed. "But in my defense--Carter's a genius. How could I know she'd be dumb enough to fall in love with me?"

"That's bullshit, Jack. You knew."

"Sure, but I thought she knew it wasn't ever going to be more than a fantasy," Jack argued. "She's a fucking *genius*."

"Yeah, well, Sam's book smart, but not life smart."

"There is that," Jack agreed with a grimace. "Still, I'm an idiot and an ass on a good day. Why the hell would she even want me?"

"Maybe she thought you'd be good in bed," Daniel said dryly. 

"Well...." Jack cut off quickly when he saw definite warning signs in Daniel's eyes. "Sex isn't everything. Sure as hell isn't worth messing up your life for."

"So what was this about?" Daniel asked, gesturing at his lips.

"Because I *am* in love with you." Jack laughed harshly at Daniel's stunned look. "Real kicker, ain't it?"

Daniel cautiously sat down cross-legged on the floor facing Jack. Jack held out his hand. After a moment, Daniel reached over and clasped Jack's hand in his.

"We're screwed," Daniel told him.

"That's the really funny part. Because Carter's in trouble but she never got screwed. I'm right on the edge of being in trouble, but I never got screwed. You never got screwed though God knows I wanted to. None of us got screwed, but we're all screwed." Jack gave him a big, angry grin. "You see the irony?"

"You *are* an idiot and an ass," Daniel said. "And I hate myself for falling in love with you."

"Not the smartest thing you've ever done," Jack agreed.

"Did you know?"

"I suspected."

"You treated me like shit," Daniel said.

"And yet you didn't stop."

"I'm a closet masochist."

"Oh, yeah?" Jack asked. Daniel couldn't help but smile at Jack's eager leer.

"Emotional masochist," Daniel clarified.

"So if nothing else we could get a little mutual self-loathing thing going here?"

"Is that all it's going to be?"

"For now," Jack admitted with a heavy sigh. "I can't do anything until Carter and this investigation are behind me."

"How bad is it going to be for Sam?"

"Depends on how hard a line they want to take. It could be real bad for both of us. It could be relatively minor."

"Which way do you think it'll go?"

"I *think* Carter's been too great an asset to the SGC for them to go for blood without overwhelming evidence of unprofessional conduct. I think.... I think she's facing a written reprimand, minimum, for her actions on 666. With any luck that's all it'll be."

"That's not so bad, is it?"

"She'll get to continue her work, but it'll probably fuck her career." Jack shook his head in disgust. "So stupid."

"Sam?"

"And me," Jack said. "I assumed that she knew what she was doing. Hell, I assumed that I knew what I was doing. Such a stupid waste."

"Maybe it doesn't have to be a waste," Daniel said quietly. "I think Sam's learning some very important things about herself. I think maybe you are, too."

"You just *insist* on painting a silver lining in every cloud, don't you?"

"I'm trying." Daniel sighed, staring at their joined hands. "I hate the thought that everything that's happened amounts to nothing more than stupidity and hormones."

"Yeah, well, on a good day stupidity and hormones pretty much define the human race," Jack said cynically. 

"I have to believe it's possible to find something positive out of this."

"Daniel, a few months down the road, when this is more or less behind us...."

Daniel gave Jack's hand a quick squeeze. 

"We'll talk," Daniel promised.

The End


End file.
